Shoulder pad



Sept., 26, 1950 w. RIEpLER ET AL 2,523,720

SHOULDER PAD Filed March 5', 1949 v 15 BY Wlfel @lf-dier EMM KW Patented Sept. 26, IDS

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v,2,523,720 f Y Y SHOULDER 'PAD Walter Riemer and' Berthold `ivreeinn, New York, N. Y., assigners to Riedler & Mechilr, lne., New' York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 5, 1949, serial-Nb. 79,826'` (o1. vz -268) 8 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a functionally and structurally improved shoulder pad, and especially a shoulder pad of the type which is employed in lined .garments such as mens coats; the present invention also teaching a method of manufacturing such pad.

It is an object of the invention to provide a unit of this type which may be applied to a garment as an assembly complete in itself, in that it will notrequire any supplemental parts, such` as a sleeve head, to be associated with it in order to provide a rounded contour such that the garment will be properly draped.

A further object is that .of furnishing ar unit which may remain in association with the garment despite repeated cleansings of the latter; the several parts of the pad remaining against collapse and movements with vrespect to each other as well as with respect to the parts of the garment to which they are axed.

AnV additional object is that of furnishing a unit of this type which. will include relatively few parts, each capable of being readily formed and assembled with the remaining parts; :such formation and assembly being susceptible to achievement by quantity production methods. When vso produced, a complete `unit will be furnished which will have a long eiTective-life.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings illustrat- `ing one practical embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective View of a completed pad; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the same taken along the lines 2--2 and vin the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 1;

Fig. '3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 3-'3 and in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the parts which .formthe shoulder pad and prior Vto the completion of the latter;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the'lines 5 5 and in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a second plan view illustrating a further stage in the manufacture of the unit, and

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional'view taken along the lines 'I--l and in the direction of thearrows as indicated in Fig. 6.

Referring primarily to Figs. 4 and 5, the numeral I0 indicates a flexible cover formed, for ,ex-

ample, of felt, which may be coatedorassociated .with a thermo-setting plastic or adhesive. .Other materials may, of course, be employed, according 2 to the finished appearance `which is to Vbe incorporated in fthe unit. 4 Superp o sed jupon cover )Hl are plies il .I2 and I3; such plies being placedone uponthe other and as illustrated, being of diminishing size. The plies II, l2 and .I3 are pref.- erably formed Ao f a relatively loose vmass of fibers, the surfaces of which are coated with a thermo- Setting plastic and adhesive The term thermosetting plastic and adhesive means a substance which is thermoplastic and will fset to astiff con-.- dition `upon coolingafter the application o f heat. The term thermo-setting adhesivemeans a substance which is thermoplastic and becomes tacky under heating and will bring about bonding or adhesion which becomes permanent upon cooling.

It is again to be understood that a varietyof materials might lbe utilized. In-placeof the multiple plies I I, I2 and I3 shown in the `figures theremay be substituted a single ply Superposed uponfthe cover Il).

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, it is preferred that cover I D and Vplies II to I3 inclusive be substantially rec,- tangular. Also, preferably, the opposite corners of ply II may be cut as indicated at I4 to provide edge portions which are spaced to amaximum extent from the adjacent corners of iiexiblefcover I0. Inaccordance-with the present teachings, it will be noted that while the center lines .of plies `I I, I2 :and I3 may be substantially aligned, they are disposed to one side of `the center line Yof sheet oncover I0. Preferably, plies I I, I2 and I3 are re# silient, incident to being formed by a fibrous mass of adhesively-coated laments. The positioning o f thepliesone upon the other and upon the cover I0 lwill thus in itself initially retain the parts against displacement. If such vcoated fibers .are notfemployed, thenthe iacesof one or Vmore of `the plies and the cover may receive a suitable applicaftion of adhesive. The latter should again preferably bea plastic o f the thermo-setting type.

-With the parts positioned as described, the cover I0 is folded along the center line vas Yin,- dicated `in Fig. 4 so that it assumes a position as f shown in Fig. 6. When so positioned, the, parts may besecured against displacement by employing, for example, a staple I5 or other suitablefas.- tening element. Due to the fact that plies I' I vL2 and I3 have beenfolded upon themselves toone Lsideof their center lines, it vis apparent thatupper edge portions will not register with adjacent lower edge portions. This has been clearly illustrated vin Fig.; '7 in which itis apparent that the corre,- sponding ply edgesoverlap and the cover overlaps itself. Consequently, inthe nishedpad no ridge a' garment by stitching or otherwise.

3 lines will be present such as might occur if the edges were in registry.

The unit as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is now transferred to a molding machine. That machine will incorporate pressure plates having the contours which it is desired to incorporate in the finished pad. Also, the machine will embrace a heating mechanism such that the plate may be raised to a proper temperature. Additionally, the mechanism will be present for forcing these plates into cooperating relationship with each other and with an interposed pad. Therefore, the pad in being treated in the machine will take on a permanent set This will be due to the reaction which necessarily occurs incident to subjecting the several layers to heat and pressure. The effect will be decidedly pronounced if plies II, I2, and I3 embrace fibers coated with the afore-described thermo-setting plastic, or if the surfaces of these several plies are thus coated. Accordingly, a finished pad is produced as in Figs. 1 to 3. In these views it will be observed that the pad is properly curved in a transverse direction and also has imparted to its upper and lower surfaces, the desired curvatures in axial directions. In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, and as especially shown in Figs. 1 and 2, ply II will be contoured-as at I6- to provide a downwardly and outwardly extending portion which is properly rounded. Adjacent to-the lower edge of this portion, ply I I is sharply bent upon itself. As illustrated, its outer face is in intimate contact with the inner face of cover I0. The adjacent bodies of plies I2 and I3 are similarly contoured and serve to mutually support each other and ply I I.

While not necessary under ordinary circumstances, it is preferred that after the pad has been completed, lines of stitching II be incorporated therein. These stitches will extend through the entire body of the pad. They will not alone serve to prevent separation of the layers when repeatedly subjected to immersion in cleaning compounds, but will also assist in maintaining the finished pad contour under all circumstances. It is apparent that sufficient edge material is provided by cover Ill and beyond the forming portions of the pad to provide areas adequate for securing the pad in position within If surplus edge portions are present, they may, of course, be trimmed off at the time the pad is associated with the garment.

Thus, among others, the several objects the invention has specifically afore-noted are achieved.

Obviously numerous changes in construction and rearrangement to the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. A shoulder pad including an outer cover, an inner ply smaller than said cover lying within said cover, a fold of said cover folding and enclosing said ply, and an edge of said folded ply overlapped on another edge of said ply to stagger the position of said ply edges along the dimension transverse to the fold line of said cover whereby said ply is folded to provide a tapering structure in the region of its overlapped edges and said folded cover provides substantially coextensive edges.

2. In a molded shoulder pad having a folded cover and a thermo-setting composition associated with a material enclosed within said folded cover susceptible to formation under the action Y of pressure and heat to form with said cover an outer edge of said shoulder pad and a dimension in. said shoulder pad transverse to said outer edge, the combination of at least one inner ply intimately associated with said composition and lying within said cover, a permanent fold in said ply substantially parallel to the fold of said cover formed under heat and pressure, and an edge of said ply overlapping another edge of said ply to stagger the position of said ply edges along the dimension transverse to said crease.

3. In a molded shoulder pad having a folded cover and a thermo-setting composition associated with a material enclosed within said folded cover susceptible to formation under the action of pressure and heat to permanently form with said cover an outer edge of said shoulder pad and a dimension in said shoulder pad transverse to said outer edge, the combination of at least one inner ply intimately associated with said folded cover, a permanent fold formed in said ply substantially parallel to the fold of said folded cover, a permanent crease in said ply fold formed under heat and pressure, said crease providing with said folded cover the outer edge of said shoulder pad and one edge of said folded ply overlapping another edge of said folded ply to stagger the position of said ply edges along the dimension transverse to said outer edge.

4. In a molded shoulder pad having a folded cover and a thermo-setting composition associated with a material enclosed within said folded cover susceptible to formation under the action of pressure and heat to permanently form with said cover an outer edge of said shoulder pad, the combination of a lplurality of plies of diminishing size intimately associated with said composition, the plies being disposed one upon another within said cover and arranged off-center with respect to said cover, said cover and all of said plies being folded upon themselves along lines substantially in registry with the center line of the cover, and permanent creases formed in said cover and plies under` the action of pressure and heat to permanently form said cover and plies in folded position and provide the outer edge of said molded shoulder pad.

5. A method of forming a shoulder pad which includes the utilization of an outer cover and at least one inner ply of diminished area positioned on said cover, arranging said ply on said cover with the cover having its center line to one side of the ply, folding said ply and cover along the center line of the cover and securing said cover and ply to each other in folded position with one edge of said ply overlapping another edge of said folded ply in staggered relationship.

6. A shoulder pad including a cover and a plurality of plies arranged one upon the other and upon said cover, each of said plies being of diminishing size, certain of said plies being arranged oif-center with respect to other plies, all of said plies and said cover being folded upon themselves and upon the intervening plies, means for securing said cover and plies in folded position with respect to each other, an edge of at least one of said plies overlapped on another edge of said same ply to stagger the position of said ply edges along the dimension transverse to the fold line whereby said same ply is folded to provide a tapering structure in the region of its overlapped edges.

7. A method of forming a shoulder pad which includes the utilization of a cover and a plurality of plies of diminished area, arranging said plies one upon the other and upon the cover with the cover having its center line to one side of the center lines of the respective plies, folding said cover and plies along the center line of the cover, overlapping one edge of each of said plies on another edge of said same ply thus staggering the position of said ply edges along the dimension transverse to said center line fold and securing said cover and plies in folded position.

8. A method of forming a shoulder pad which includes employing an outer cover of flexible material and a plurality of plies of fibrous and resilient material, said rplies being of progressively diminishing size and of less area than said cover, arranging said plies one upon the other in graduated formation With the smallest size ply uppermost and having the center line of the lowermost cover to one side of the respective center lines of the superposed plies, folding said cover upon itself and similarly folding the intervening plies, overlapping one edge of each of said plies on another edge of said same ply thus staggering the position of said ply edges along the dimension transverse to said center line fold and permanently deforming and shaping all of said plies under the action of neat and pressure to secure them to each other in such deformed condition.

WALTER RIEDLER.

BERTHOLD MECHUR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 873,999 Goldman Dec. 17, 1907 2,407,755 Witham Sept. 17, 1946 2,440,368 Danilin Apr. 27, 1948 20 2,461,881 Diamond Feb. 15, 1949 

